The strings of many types of musical instruments are held and supported over their resonant bodies by means of a small, upright member known as a bridge. The bridge, which is usually formed of a thin, hand crafted wooden slab, has a set of grooves along one of its edges in which the strings are tautly held. In the case of banjos, the bridge is mounted unattachedly upon the resonant diaphragm or head of the banjo and held in place by the strings.
Heretofore, bridge designs have been focused on attempts to limit sound wave energy absorption and dissipation within the bridge itself and to enhance the tonal clarity of the sounds transmitted by the bridge. As exemplified by the bridge shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,559, design attempts at achieving this goal have been directed principally at shaping the periphery of the bridge in complex manners on a trial and error basis. These bridges have been both costly and difficult to reproduce, particularly with consistency.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a stringed instrument bridge of relatively simple and reproducible construction and with enhanced sound transmission characteristics. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.